ABOUT

Clarinetist Emmalie Tello is dedicated to creating art that explores storytelling and emotional narratives within music. A member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, she has a passion for collaborative projects with performance highlights at Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hear Now Festival, MATA Festival, and Bang on a Can's Long Play Festival. Emmalie has appeared with groups including the Talea Ensemble and Wet Ink Ensemble and can be heard on recordings with saxophonist/composer Jeff Lederer and string quartet ETHEL. Emmalie has also premiered her own compositions in programming at the Banff Centre and the Clearfield Szalon.

Emmalie is co-founder and co-director of Art Beyond the Ink (ABI), an organization which uses interdisciplinary collaboration and musical storytelling to engage young audiences and support early-career artists, along with Rebecca Schifilliti. The award-winning business has been a part of in-school, after-school, and pre-college preparatory programs across New York City and is an active partner to the New York Public Library. Along with educational programs and curriculum, Emmalie writes and produces short films for ABI and has had her work screened at The Backyard at Hudson Yards, the Canberra Film Festival in Australia, and The Dimenna Center. Emmalie is co-author of “Hearing and Seeing Musical Stories: The Story-Filled Tool For Understanding What You Hear,” a children’s workbook that teaches musical concepts through short stories, artistic prompts, and kinesthetic exercises.

Emmalie has taught regular and substitute coursework with the Manhattan School of Music’s Community Partnerships program, Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Queens College Preparatory Division. She has presented educational workshops with the Sphinx Organization, Mannes Prep, and on the collegiate level with symphony members at Hunter College, and she has workshopped and performed student composers’ pieces from Luna Composition Lab, Wildflower Composers, and the Walden School Music Camp. Emmalie obtained degrees in Entrepreneurship and Clarinet from The New School and in Contemporary Clarinet Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Jon Manasse and David Krakauer. Aside from performing, Emmalie oversaw a city-wide network of tuition-free youth ensembles as Senior Program Manager at the Harmony Program. She is currently a member of the Faculty Affairs team at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.